Method and device for loading silk



Aug. 21, 1934. R, CLAVEL 1,970,736

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR LOADING SILK CONTAINING FABRICS Original Filed April is, 1928 Ztorney Patented Aug. 21, 1934 UNITED STATES METHOD AND DEVICE FOR LOADING SILK CONTAINING FABRICS Rene Qlavel, Basel, Switzerland Application April 18, 1928, Serial No. 271,099.

Renewed Mal-ch24, 1933. In Switzerland August 23, 1927 2 Claims.

The invention relates to a method for loading silk fabrics with metal compounds, and it consists in continuously moving the fabric forward and thereby bringing it into contact with solu-' tions of all or some of the materials or mixtures required for loading the silk. The preferred procedure is to pass the fabric continuously through a series of baths arranged one behind the other,,

which baths, in the case of tin phosphate-silicate loading, contain in succession the tin bath, the alkali phosphate solution, and the silicate solu-. tion. It is not necessary that all the loading agents be caused to operate in succession on the continuously advanced fabric. For example, in the case of tin phosphate-silicate loading, only the tin bath and the phosphate bath may be caused to operate on the moving silk fabric, and the silicate may be applied thereto in the heretofore customary manner without forward movement of the fabric. Thus, the loading agents can be caused to act upon the silk in any desired sequence, and the silk may be either in the form of fabric or in skeins.

In carrying out the continuous process it is preferable that the silk before its entry into the metal salt bath be treated with a solution of acid or acid salts, because this produces an effective soaking of the silk whereby its receptiveness of the loading agents is increased. It is also possi-' ble to add acids or acid salts to the metal salt bath, with the result that the formation of the loading precipitate takes place in the presence of acid reacting materials which has the advantage that the loading precipitate is directly 35 formed from the metal salt bath without the same having to be converted by tedious and expensive washing with water into tin hydroxide, this also causing substantial losses of SnCh. By the described preliminary treatment of the silk with acid, and the elimination of the washing for forming tin hydroxide, which can be replaced by a brief squeezing, the process can be so shortened that a rational performance of the continuous process-is for the first time madepossible. 45 Heretofore, it has been possible only to effect separate short stages of silk loading in a continuous manner, because the carrying out of the previous processes required machines of noneconomic length and caused damage of the'goods. According to the present invention it has been made possible for the first time to treat the silk continuously from the beginning to the end of the loading operations.

' In many cases, for example, in the manufacture of matte silk, the formation of the loading 'ceptas regards their acid content.

ing of the silk after the metal salt treatment 0 may either be completely omitted or be greatly shortened, as desired.

The baths which may be employed in the process according to the present invention are generally similar to those of the prior process ex- 05 The acid employed for the preliminary treatment of the silk may be, for example, mono-chloro-acetic acid. As metal salt bath there is usually employed a concentrated solution of. tin tetrachloride, and as fixing bath a solution of alkali phosphate, usually sodium phosphate. Whereas heretofore it was customary to employ the alkaline di-sodium mono-hydrogen phosphate, the fixing bath according to the invention may contain mono-sodium di-hydrogen phosphate, owing to the addition of acid. When a bath of the last mentioned composition is employed, the silk, after traversing this bath, may be passed through a bath of di-sodium mono-hydrogen phosphate in order again to impart to it alkaline reaction before it is washed.

In'many cases it is desirable to allow the pre-" liminary acid treatment to operate longer on the silk, The procedure may be such'that the 3 acid impregnated silk may be rolled up for a certain time, laid aside, and only then passed through the other bath in continuous manner. In this procedure the acid may be kept fully in the silk or it can be wholly or partly washed out. If it is allowed to remain wholly or partly in the silk, then it passes into the metal salt bath, which in such case does not require the addition of acid, or only to a lesser extent;

It is recommended to squeeze the fabric on its passage from one bath to the next and to return the squeezed out loading liquor to the preceding bath in order to avoid loss of the loading agent and possible mistakes in the process. This squeezing is preferably before the silk enters the metal salt bath, the phosphate bath, and the water glass bath, when such is included, and in these cases the squeezing should be particularly powerful. In order that the time of action of the individual treating liquors upon the continuously advancing silk fabric may not be too short, the fabric treated with one loading substance ,may 'be allowed to remain stationary for a long period before the second loading material is takenup.

by the fabric so that the periods of a'ction'of the individual liquids on the continuously moving silk fabric shall not be too short. This is preferably effected by the portion of fabric treated with one substance being allowed to remain stationary for a period adjusted as desired before it passes into the bath containing another agent without, however, interrupting the general process and the movement of the remaining portion of fabric. It may be advisable to heat the fabric or to keep it warm during this rest period particularly in the case of treatment with sodium silicate.

A thoroughly satisfactory loading of the silk fabric can be obtained in a very short time and with continuous operation by working according to the invention by allowing the individual loading agents to act in succession on the continuously moving silk fabric. A relatively long period has hitherto been necessary for this purpose and continuous operation could not be employed. The degree of loading can also be regulated when working according to the invention by allowing the textile material to pass several times through until tin phosphate forms according to the invention; the fabric is preferably well washed between the separate passages. It is also advisable to wash the fabric thoroughly before transferring it to the sodium silicate solution and before winding it off, which can be carried out very simply without interrupting the continuous operation by allowing the fabric to pass through a vessel supplied with water or to remain stationary without, however, interrupting the movement of the fabric in another part of the apparatus.

The invention also relates to an apparatus for carrying out the new process which consists essentially of a series of vessels for containing the liquids used in the treatment arranged in succession, i. e:-in series one after the other or-above one another which are provided with a mechanism for moving the fabric continuously forward from the -winding-off drum and to guide it through the vessel. with guide rollers immersed in the liquid below which the fabric is passed through the liquid. The winding-off tanks'are arranged between the individual vessels or bet .veen groups of vessels in which the corresponding portions of the fabric are stored up and remain stationary for a short or long period as desired before passing through the next vessel. The movement of the portion of the fabric not located in the winding off tank is however not interrupted thereby. The winding off tanks must be constructed so that the silk fabric can enter and emerge therefrom without any hindrance. The tanks which are open at the top and preferably flat are therefore suitable. In a particularly suitable form of construction these winding off tanks consist of two relatively inclined faces arranged between the individual vessels so that the divergence of the angle formed by the two faces is in the direction of the succeeding vessel. The winding ofi tanks can be mounted in closed housings in order to be able to heat material or to keep it warm which is particularly the case when the vessel preceding the corresponding winding off tank contains the sodium silicate solution. It is advisable to provide squeezing-means between the individual vessels, particularly before the first vessel for the solution of metallic salt, phosphate solution and silicate solution in order to be able to express the liquid. The washing troughs supplied with washing liquid are attached to the vessel containing the phosphate and, if

These vessels are preferably provided necessary, to the last vessel containing the-sodium silicate and are provided with mechanism guiding the fabric in the trough in several convolutions, for example, a plurality of rollers. The washing troughs may, also, however, be supplied with a mechanism which causes the fabric to rest in the washing trough similarly as in the winding-off tanks without interrupting the movement of the remainder of the fabric thereby. In order to be able to regulate the lengths of the individual periods of rest as simply as possible, it is advisable to attach a so-called run to the fabric. Thus, the first run, which may consist for example of a strip of silk is first passed through the machine and the lengths of the first run corresponding to the desired periods of rest are placed in the winding off tanks and, if necessary, in the washing troughs.

One form of construction of an apparatus suitable for carrying out the new process is shown diagrammatically in the drawing in the form used when it is a question of producing a tin-phosphate-silicate loading in which it is not intended that the silk shall lose its lustre.

The fabric 2 is led from the winding-off drum, 1, through a vessel, 3, below rollers, 4, 5, containing a 10% solution of mono-chlor-acetic acid; after emerging from this vessel the fabric passes through a pair of rollers 6, arranged above and directly after the vessel, 3, a mechanism, 7, regulating the draw-off and into a tank in which enough silk fabric is allowed to collect to give the necessary period of rest. The silk is then conveyed from this winding-off tank 8 which consists of two relatively inclined plates 9 and 10, preferably fitted with glass, the angle of divergence ofwhich is directed towards the next vessel 11, over a roller 12, and below rollers 13, 14, through water in a vessel, 11,.in order to remove excess free acid.

From the vessel 11, the silk passes through a squeezing device 15 into the vessel 16 which contains a solution of stannic chloride of specific gravity 35 B. and also provided with guide rollers 1'7 and 18. From this vessel 16 the silk then passes over a pair of rollers 6a, a winding-off device 19 in a winding-off tank 20 of the same construction as the tank 8. Enough silk is again collected at this point to give the desired period of rest. The silk is then led-over a roller-21 through a second vessel 22, provided with guide rollers, 23 and 24, also containing a 3 5 B. stannic chloride solution, to be collected again after emerging from this vessel, 22, in a winding-off tank 25 in which the desired period of rest is obtained.

The fabric 2, then passes over a stretcher 26 of the usual construction in which the silk is again widened, through a squeezer, 27 and into a vessel 28, containing a 10% solution of monosodium-di-hydrogen-phosphate and also provid-.

ed'with guide rollers 29,- 30. The fabric passes from this vessel 28 into a winding-off mechanism 31 in which sufiicient silk is collected to give the trough in several convolutions follows on this vessel.

The continuous loading process can be interrupted at this point and the silicate treatment carried out in the manner hitherto usual without continuous movement of the silk fabric. Further additional vessels, winding-off devices and squeezers similar to the devices 15-31 can be inserted after the winding-off tank 31 before the vessel 33, in order to allow further passage 7 through the tin phosphate before treatment with silicate. The fabric from the winding-off tank 31 may also, after the entire fabric has passed the squeeze roller 15, be passed through a squeezer similar to squeezer 15 and the devices succeeding thereto, one or more times in order to make several passages of the alkali phosphate bath. In this connection it is, however, advisable to wash the silk before each fresh passage for example, in washing troughs such as 35. The vessel, 33, containing the phosphate. solution having an alkaline reaction through which the silk passes before treatment With the silicate can be eliminated. In this case it is advisable to add di-sodium-mono-hydrogen-phosphate and some sodium carbonate to the washing .water in the trough 35.

The silk fabric emerging from the washing trough35 is then again led through a stretcher 37 and a squeezer 38 into a vessel 39 provided with guide rollers 40 and 41 and containing a solution of sodium-silicate of specific gravity of at least 1 B. and with 2 grammes of soap per litre at 60 C. From this vessel 39 the fabric passes over a roller 42 in the vessel 43 which contains a solution of sodium silicate of specific gravity of at least 1 B. at 60? C. without the addition of any soap and is also provided with guide rollers 44 and 45. From this vessel 43, the fabric, 2, passes into a winding-off mechanism 46, entirely enclosed by a casing 47, so as to prevent the temperature of the fabric dropping, in this chamber, which is also heated, below 50 C. The vessel 48, followingon this winding-off tank 46 again contains a solution of sodium silicate of at least 1 B. at 60 C. and is provided with guide rollers 45 to 50. A winding-off mechanism 51 with a housing 52, in order to prevent the temperature of the silk dropping below 50 C. follows on this vessel 48.- The silk is then heavily loaded and passes through a stretcher 53 in a washin trough 54, provided with guide rollers and supplied with soft water. From this washing trough the fabric 2, passes over a roller, 56, through a winding oif mechanism 57 and on to a table 58, where it is piled up. A winding mechanism may also be provided instead of this table 58. The

arrangement described as an example of con struction may be modified very extensively without departing from the scope of the invention.

Thus, for example, several vessels containing the same liquid may be arranged after one another or above one another. A number of these vessels can be suitably arranged according to the speed with which the silk is to be loaded and according to the degree of loading to be produced. Further winding-off devices which insure the material resting for-a period before entering the fresh bath may be omitted. In this case, other devices must be provided which render possible the resting of the silk in the individual vessels for containing the liquids used for the treatment or provision must be made that the silk is only led through the separate baths at a veri low velocity. The vessels containing the liquids can be provided with heating devices for example, heating pipes in order to be able to adjust the temperature to any predetermined value. The whole apparatus is preferably driven by a single motor with suitable connecting and transmission gears.

In referring to silk containing fabrics, it is understood that not only natural silk can be utilized but also artificial .silk such as produced from cellulose derivatives.

I claim: I

1. A method for loading silk containing fabrics in which the fabric to be loaded is passed continuously through baths containing in succession a. solution of an organic acid, tin tetrachloride solution and alkali-metal phosphates.

2. A method of loading silk containing fabrics, in which the fabric to be loaded is moved continuously forward, which comprises moving the fabric successively through an acid bath and squeezing out the fabric, moving the fabric through a tin tetrachloride solution and squeezing out the fabric, and then moving the fabric through a bath of monosodium di-hydrogen phosphate.

' RENE CLAVEL. 

